Naked
by I. M. Frelling-Wonko
Summary: Idiom Series - Vala bares it all for Daniel.


This is a series of stories using idioms as the base.

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**A/N: **I know what you're all thinking but you can get your minds out of the gutter. It's not that kind of naked. )

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I started this a while back but couldn't figure out how I wanted to end it. It takes place during _The Ties That Bind_ and it's a bit AU. I wanted to play around with how Daniel might react to Vala's story being true and this is what came out.

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**Series: **Idiom series

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A/N: All definitions come from the book _From the Horse's Mouth_ by John Ayto. If you enjoy idioms, I highly recommend this one.

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Disclaimer: I own nothing but my imagination.

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Spoiler Warning: Major ones for _The Ties That Bind_.

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**Naked**

**Idiom: **_the naked truth:_ the plain truth, without concealment or embellishment.

Daniel watched angrily as Vala left his room. What had she thought? That he'd just jump into bed with her because she wore some sexy lingerie? He shook his head to dislodge the image of her in said lingerie as it flitted through his mind. She'd tried to play him, make him feel sorry for her. Did she really think he'd believe her story about a fiancé? She'd done nothing but lie from the moment they'd met. Why should this be any different? He flopped back on his bed, suddenly too tired to stand any more, and played back bits of the conversation.

_There was someone once. In fact, I was engaged._

Yeah right, he thought. He resolutely pushed away the emotion he'd heard in her voice. She made a living as a con artist. She was probably a master at pulling out emotions at the drop of the hat.

_Once you've been spat on, and stoned by the people of you own village..._

He told himself he'd imagined the choked sound to her voice on that one.

_Are you messing with me?_

_Is it working?_

Daniel sat straight up as he realised she hadn't actually denied or confirmed his assumption. Just fell back on sarcasm, as usual.

"Crap." he said and stood, pulling on his glasses and left the room. He stood in front of Vala's door for a few moments before knocking. When she didn't answer, he turned to the guard and motioned toward the lock. "Do you mind?"

The SF looked at him for a second before relenting and opening the door.

"Thank you." Daniel said and entered the darkened room. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust but when they did he wasn't prepared for what he saw. Vala was hunched over on the end of her bed and, if the shaking shoulders were anything to go by, she was crying.

"Vala?" he said quietly. She stiffened and he saw her hands go up to her face, wiping away her tears.

"What do you want, Daniel?" Her voice sounded small and watery and he kicked himself for being such an ass.

"I think we need to talk."

"Hmph." she sniffed a little, still keeping her back to him. "I think you pretty much said it all back there."

"No, I didn't." He moved to sit on the bed next to her and she turned away from him some more. He sighed but continued. "Listen, I know I said some pretty harsh things back there. But you have to admit, your track record for telling the truth hasn't exactly been stellar."

"Well now, I feel so much better."

"You didn't let me finish." When she didn't respond with a sarcastic comment, he took it as a good sign and went on. "You said you had a fiancé. Is that true?"

"What do you think?"

"It doesn't matter what I think. I want the truth. Were you messing with me?"

She stayed silent for so long, he didn't think she was going to answer. But finally she turned toward him and sighed in defeat. "No, I was not messing with you. It's true. I was engaged to a young man from my village before Qetesh took me."

He smiled and lay a comforting hand on her cheek, wiping away a stray tear. "Tell me about him."

"What's there to tell?" She pulled away and stood up, pacing the small confines of the room. "I was engaged, Qetesh took me as a host, the Tok'ra freed me. When I went back to my village no one could see past their hatred for Qetesh to even consider that I was no longer her. Not even Traylon. When they started throwing stones, I got out of there as quickly as possible and never looked back."

"Traylon. That was your fiancé's name?"

"Yes." Vala said on a sigh. "Why do you want to know? It's in the past and that's where I'd like to keep it."

He stood up and went to her, placing his hands on her arms to get her to stop pacing. He waited for her to look up at him before he spoke. "From the moment you dropped into my life you've annoyed me, bewildered me, angered me. But you also intrigue me. I want to understand you."

"There's nothing to understand." she told him, trying to pull away.

"I think there is." He held her in place. "I think there is a very complex person under this shallow façade you show to the universe. That's who I want to understand."

"Why?" she asked again.

"Not sure yet. Why don't you start by telling me about your past and we'll go from there."

"Why couldn't you be like every other man in the universe and simply take sex when it's offered?"

"I guess I'm just not normal."

"You can say that again." Her laugh was watery but at least it was there.

"So, tell me about your childhood." he said and took a seat on the edge of the bed, inviting her to do the same. She looked uncertain for a moment before acquiescing.

"All right. Where do you want me to begin?"

"What were your parents like?"

She laughed, if a bit sardonically this time, but started to tell him about how she'd grown up. The more he learnt, the more he understood. And the more he understood, the more he wanted to learn. He wasn't sure where this was going but he knew one thing. He didn't want it to end yet.

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